


King-Sized Bed

by AceAsADHD



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen, concerning Lucy's death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 12:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16017599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceAsADHD/pseuds/AceAsADHD
Summary: No one expected Jeff to be okay after Lucy's death but when he wakes up in his too big bed he goes searching to find out why.





	King-Sized Bed

**Author's Note:**

> I personally don't think Jeff would ever be neglectful to his children. I think his children might be mindful that Jeff might need some space and work around that.

King Sized Bed

 

Raising a family of four boys, no, five now with little Alan, was a challenge. Thankfully they were all for the most part well behaved, so it made parenting just that bit easier.

Baby Scott had been calm, but teething had been terrible. Lucy and Jeff would be up all night with a screaming baby. So would often collapse in bed exhausted; sometimes still holding Scott. Scott’s first big boy bed's frame was like a fighter jet, and Jeff got him a real US Air Force helmet to go with it.

When Scott was older and had a nightmare, he would always play it off when he crawled into their bed. Like he was doing Jeff and Lucy favour by Bringing his rocket blanket with him, he would decide to sleep in their bed to protect them.

Scott seems to have a knack for reading the emotions of the room. When they told a four-year-old Scott he was getting siblings Scott was overjoyed.

From the moment they brought the twins home, and Scott looked at them with the wide eye, Jeff knows they were in good hands. Scott was always trying to help both his parents and his brothers. Offering toys, blankets and half-eaten biscuits to share.

John was the type of baby who wanted to look and touch everything. They guessed he started crawling earlier than normal because he wanted to explore. Virgil liked to sleep a lot so was docile and quiet. He was the earliest to talk though, and his first word was NO. Virgil’s first word was often directed at John, who would be trying to get into something he shouldn’t. Scott learnt to be quick on the mark when he would hear Virgil’s NO from across the room.

When they were old enough, the twins got bunk beds. It was officially Virgil and his dinosaur blanket up top and John and his Planet blanket down below. They would swap every now and again and some mornings they would be cuddled on the same bed. 

Virgil could sleep through a brass band so if John had a nightmare he was the only one that crawled into Jeff’s bed. If Virgil were the one with the nightmare, Lucy would have a child nuzzled in front and behind her.

Gordon was a wiggly child; he always had to be moving. Not even at anything, in particular, he simply moves to something then moves to the next thing and so on. Gordon was a kicker in his sleep and a thrasher during nightmares. Jeff would often have to sit up in bed as Gordon cried on his shoulder and Gordon would fight going back to sleep.

Alan was a mix of John and Scott. He is needing to look at everything but with a calmness that meant he wouldn’t be rushing off anywhere.

Alan was still using a crib when Lucy died.

Jeff went into deep mourning. No one could blame him; he had lost his partner, his other half, the love of his life. He walked through his day like he was in a fog and couldn’t focus on anything.

One day, a week after the funeral, Jeff woke up and looked over at the empty bed. It suddenly felt too big; it had felt empty since Lucy’s death, but this morning it felt too big. He thinks back and realises that he hasn't had one boy sneak into his room at night; for any reason. He hasn't heard Alan cry or felt Gordon kick or had to get Virgil a glass of water.

He looks at the clock and finds it's still early on a Tuesday, so he goes searching through the house. His first stop is Alan’s room and looks in. Alan's not in his crib, and there is no sign he was there last night. Gordon isn't clutching his toy squid under shark blankets of his submarine bed. Virgil and John aren't in either of their bunk beds, and their blankets are missing.

He arrives at the door of Scott's room and peeks in; on the floor, Jeff spots his boys. They all are on and in a mismatch of blankets and sleeping bags in the centre of the floor. All Scott's things either pushed against walls or placed on his single bed. The bed looked like it Scott hadn't used it for ages.

Jeff backs out quietly and walks downstairs. He finds all the notes, homework and meals he's missed. He sees permission slips, drawing and a 100% test score on the fridge. There was a detailed schedule, in Scott’s writing, listing where all the boys need to be, at what times, and who is looking after who.

Jeff decides to start living again. He’s been so caught up in the loss of his wife he managed to forget his children.

He picked up the phone to call his assistant and says he's taking the rest of the week off. He asked her if she could also inform the boy’s schools and kindergarten that they won’t be there for the rest of the week either.

This week Jeff was going to reconnect with his boys and today they are going bed shopping.


End file.
